SECRET MOVIE CLUB presents
Part of our SILENT CLASSICS WITH ORIGINAL LIVE SCORES Series, Tuesday, September 26, 2023
LOCATION: The Secret Movie Club Theater, 1917 Bay Street, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90021
*Please note entrance/parking is actually in the back of the 1917 Bay St building. Our entrance is NOT on Bay Street. You access our entrance from Wilson Street by turning into the street art alleyway/corridor in the back of the building. Look for our signs which are always posted on Wilson and in the corridor to guide the audience.
7:30pm THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920, dir. Robert Wiene, Kino Lorber, Germany, 77mns, DCP)
*IMPORTANT NOTE (PLEASE READ): This rare 35mm screening of Caligari will be accompanied by a live original score by The Invincible Czars. The entire program will run 80-90mns total.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was the German expressionist shot heard round the world. A story of an insane doctor who uses a sleepwalking patient to commit horrible crimes, Caligari boldly introduced a cinema of exaggerated production design, performance, lighting to externalize in cinema its characters’ inner psychologies (the key hallmark of German Expressionism).
We’re showing this key work of world cinema in its rare fully restored 77 minute version accompanied by a live original score by touring group The Invincible Czars for a one of a kind night of cinema.
It’s hard now (as it often is) to fully appreciate the stunning impact Caligari had. Audience members were reported to scream when Cesare (future Casablanca star Conrad Veidt), a proto-Frankenstein, was first introduced.
Caligari also took some of the fantastical experiments French filmmaker Georges Melies had developed in his sci-fi fantasy movies and forged them to darker, more disturbing purpose as horrific reflections of madness, insanity, mental instability.
Caligari is in some ways THE ancestral horror movie. It continued to lay the track for soon to come bold horror experiments like F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu and Carl Theodore Dryer’s Vampyr among others.
Are you ready to start pre-gaming the Halloween season? Well look no further. Consider Caligari the starting line.
Join us for an exciting night of live original music and a gargantuan silent film classic screened in its fully restored 77 minute version in a movie theater.
Best always,
Craig Hammill
Secret Movie Club Founder.Programmer
About the Invincible Czars: The Invincible Czars began making adventurous rock music in Austin clubs 2003 but they quickly branched into the arts world with their wide scope of styles, cinematic flare, mix of modern and classical instruments and their complicated relationship with heavy metal.
They began accompanying silent films at the original Alamo Drafthouse in Austin in 2006 with Aelita, Queen of Mars (1922.) They continued adding titles to their catalog year after year and expanding their performance region slowly until they were touring the entire US by 2016.Many art house cinemas and film festivals call The Invincible Czars one of the best in the nation for silent film accompaniment. “Thank you for making this movie actually scary,” is heard at least once at every show.
The touring ensemble for 2023 is:
Phil Davidson – violin, keyboards, percussion
Skunk Manhattan – piano, keyboards, bass
Josh Robins – guitar, bass, samples, percussion
Louis Landry – drums, percussion, keyboards
Hampton Rattan – winds, keys
*Please note that though we strive to always show titles on 35mm film if advertised, we may have to screen digitally if the print we receive is in such bad shape or if we don't receive the print in time because of a shipping delay. We will do our best to alert the audience. When this does occur, we will offer each ticket holder who chooses not to attend a complimentary ticket to a future event in exchange. (Disclaimer: Good for 90 days – Future screening must have available tickets, cannot be a fundraiser, and must be comparably priced)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
REFUNDS:
We can offer refunds up to 24 hours before showtime. Please request a refund through Eventbrite and we will process ASAP. After that, no refunds. Sorry.
However if something last minute comes up and you can’t make the screening, for whatever reason, just write to us before showtime: community@secretmovieclub.com and we’ll offer you complimentary tickets to a future screening, good for 90 days. (Disclaimer: Future screening must have available tickets, cannot be a fundraiser, and must be comparably priced)
HELPFUL SECRET MOVIE CLUB (1917 Bay Street, 2nd Floor, LA, CA 90021) THEATER PARKING TIPS:
We recommend that you park just outside our theater. Remember our theater is actually in a beautiful street art alleyway in the back of the 1917 Bay Street building. You get to our entrance by taking a right on Wilson, then a right behind the building. We are the first set of black steps on the right after the big gate.
There is also a parking lot at the corner of Mateo and Violet Street, just 2 blocks from our theater, which costs $7 per car.
HOW CAN WE STAY ON TOP OF NEWLY ANNOUNCED 35MM SCREENINGS, EVENTS, ETC?
You can follow us on Instagram/Twitter: @secretmovieclub or Facebook: @secretmovieclub35mm
You can also subscribe to our weekly email newsletter at secretmovieclub.com or by writing to us at community@secretmovieclub.com and using the header “SUBSCRIBE ME TO NEWSLETTER”.
HOW CAN I CONTACT YOU IF I HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS:
You can always email us at community@secretmovieclub.com with any other questions, concerns, thoughts, recommendations.